Jim Peters Stadium, Dagenham

Sports Pitch Re-Grading & Drainage Installation

Following substantial investment in East London's sporting amenities in the build-up to the 2012 Olympics, Mayesbrook Park offers a wide range of sports facilities to local residents and teams. However, the infield of the Jim Peters Track & Field Stadium - one of the venues for the Invictus Games, supported by Prince Harry, and which also sees football usage during the winter months - remained an uneven and often waterlogged surface.

With over 20 years' experience as a sports turf specialist, working nationwide from offices in Derbyshire and London, Turfdry were contacted as an ideal candidate to offer considered, cost-effective solutions utilising cutting-edge technology.

Subsequent to a site inspection and the gathering of levels information, proposals were successfully submitted, outlining Turfdry's plan to re-level the topsoil layer to produce a more even and naturally draining playing surface, prior to the installation of a drainage system and re-seeding.

The Hydraway Sportsdrain that lies at the heart of the Turfdry Drainage System is an alternative to conventional plastic pipe drainage systems, delivering maximum drainage efficiency with minimum disruption to existing turf; it intakes water 3-times quicker, is installed in trenches only 50mm wide, and is even effective at zero gradient - thanks to its unique construction that offers unparalleled clog-resistance, whilst maintaining optimal filtration.

This advanced technology, combined with the firm's impeccable record performing both minor and major earthworks, made Turfdry the clear choice for the works. In particular, the fact that Hydraway Sportsdrain is effective at shallower gradients than the Sport England recommendations for plastic pipe made it ideally suited for this site, due to the face that all the water from the infield had to be drained to a specific level due to its discharge into a pre-built attenuation system - a common feature of athletic stadium infields.

The field was initially sprayed with a non-toxic total herbicide to remove the existing vegetation, before initial levelling works took place. Following this, the drainage team arrived on site to install a Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain at 3m centres, using their range of specialist equipment.

The athletics track surrounding the infield places restrictions on drainage gradients, as water must be drained to a pre-installed outfall chamber at a specific height. The Turfdry Drainage System with Hydraway Sportsdrain offers the ideal solution in such circumstances - as it has demonstrated effectiveness even at zero gradient - and it is for this reason that it was chosen for this project.